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Making your own candles is so much fun once you have followed the basic step by step procedures. There are a few techniques to master, but once you have you will be well on your way to enjoying your new hobby or business venture.
Hand dipped candles
Once you are competent with basic candle making, consider experimenting with the art of making hand dipped candles. While these lovely creations take more time, they are stunning. You can use several colors on each candle giving it a unique color scheme. This technique really brings your creativity.
There are basic tools you will need to make hand dipped candles and most of them you will already have if you have been making your own candles. You will need a large amount of paraffin wax, a wick or wicks and a double boiler to melt the wax in. Other utensils include wooden spoons, bowls, and a good quality thermometer. The colors available for hand dipped candles are too many to name. These colors come in various forms including cakes, chips, powder, or liquid. If you choose to add scents to your hand dipped candles you need to make sure it is pure oil that does not have a water or alcohol base to it.
Building the candle
The best way to prepare for any hobby or craft is to make sure that you work in stages. The preparation can make all the difference to the end result and it also reduces the chances of mistakes due to panic.
With candle making the idea is to have all your candle making requirements set out and ready to go. One important factor is to have your wicks cut and ready to set. If you are making sets of candles make sure you cut your wicks to the same length.
The preparation of the wax is just the same for hand dipped candles as it is for any other wax candle you will make, in that you heat it until it reaches a temperature of 160 Fahrenheit. Once it does, turn the heat down very low to keep the wax in liquid form. Add the color to the wax, using a few drops at a time until your reach the color you want. When adding your color use a wire whisk as this blends the color in evenly. Add a small amount of candle making fragrance to the mix at this time if you desire. Use scents moderately as you don't want to have too powerful a smell. Using too much fragrance can also result in the candle not burning properly.
It is actually quite a good idea to put the candle fragrance in the outer layer of wax, but this will depend on how you are going to build your candle.
Now that your wax is ready dip the wicks into the candle wax making sure to coat it well. By repeating this process you will "build" your candle. After the wicks cool, dip them again. Each time you dip them, the candle will grow in size. Once your candle is close to the desired thickness, shave the top with a soft blade giving it a pointed look. Dip your candles a few more times to give them a smooth finish. If you want different colors on the same candle simply have more than one color of wax ready to use. It is at this stage that you may want to vary your colors.
Creating hand dipped candles is a great hobby or business venture. The process is time consuming, but the creations are beautiful. Learning to make hand dipped candles can be tricky. This is not a good type of candle for beginners to try to start with. To practice without wasting supplies, melt down the wax from the candles you are building and use it over and over again until you have the process perfected.
Hand dipped candles do need a little more practice and research than most other methods, but at least you can re-melt your wax and use it again and again until you perfect the hand dipping method.
